


Weight of the World

by lechaton17



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, One Shot, Whump, hurt keith, paladin family, worried shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 16:50:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15912351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lechaton17/pseuds/lechaton17
Summary: Keith had saved Shiro time and time again.As many times as it took.But will Shiro be able to save Keith?





	Weight of the World

**Author's Note:**

> Hello friends, 
> 
> This is my first attempt at writing Voltron fanfic. I decided to write a short one- shot to start with, to start getting used to writing the characters. 
> 
> I like writing H/C and whump, with sprinkled angst and fluff, so yeah. 
> 
> TW: There are a couple instances of language, mentions of injury and blood. 
> 
> I don't really ship any of the characters, though I do really love Keith and Shiro's relationship. This fic is really not meant to be read with romantic ships in mind, but you can do so if you wish, aha! 
> 
> Let me know what you think!

It had been weeks since their last battle against Sendak and the Galra. It had been weeks, and Shiro had come to realize the past couple days that Keith was struggling.

 

That was the reason he had volunteered himself and Keith for this mission- they were visiting a friendly planet to see if there had been any survivors following the Galra’s attacks. So far, all they had come across was rubble of a destroyed planet. Shiro was second-guessing his decision now for them to come on this mission. He’d wanted to get some time alone with Keith to see if he’d be able to open up at all to Shiro about what he’d been dealing with. Keith had never been good about talking about things, especially his own feelings. But Shiro had hoped that Keith would at least try to find comfort in him. When Keith was younger, he’d open up to Shiro every once and a while. But today, Keith was feeling even more distant as they walked through the ruins of the planet. A reminder of what the Galra had taken from everyone.

 

“I think we should head back,” Shiro sighed after they had been walking silently for some time. “I don’t think anyone is here.”

 

Keith didn’t respond. He looked hurt, or angry, or maybe both. He had been holding on to hope that they would find survivors.

 

“Fine,” Keith said finally, walking away. “Let’s go.”

 

“Keith,” Shiro said, reaching out to him, but his hand fell short and he struggled for words. Keith stopped, and after a moment, he turned around to face Shiro. His eyes suddenly widened, looking afraid.

 

“Shiro!” he yelled, and before Shiro could look, Keith moved around him, shielding him. Keith yelled out in pain before Shiro even registered what was happening- there were Galra sentries, and they were firing at them. Shiro hadn’t heard them or seen them, and neither had Keith.

 

“Keith!” Shiro gasped, but Keith had already straightened, pulling out his bayard and ready to fight, a hand grasping his stomach. They split up, attacking the sentries together. These sentries seemed stronger, more advanced than others the Galra had used. Luckily for them, there were only four; they probably hadn’t been expecting Shiro and Keith any more than Keith and Shiro expected them. Shiro defeated both the sentries on his side, and then turned to Keith. Keith had defeated one of his sentries, but was struggling with the second. Shiro was already moving in to help him when the sentry blasted Keith, knocking him backward as his helmet went flying.

 

“No!” Shiro yelled, and hit the sentry that attacked Keith. Keith had already damaged it, and a couple hits from Shiro sent it down. They were in the clear, for now. But Shiro knew that more would be coming. There were always more.

 

“Keith,” he said, falling to his knees beside Keith. He was injured. He had been blasted twice, and it had been enough to somehow break through his armor. Keith’s eyes were closed tight, his hands holding his stomach. _Shit_ , Shiro thought to himself, trying not to panic. “Keith? Hey, can you hear me?”

 

Keith opened his eyes to look at Shiro. His breathing was labored. “J-Just leave me,” Keith groaned. “More will be coming. You can get back to the-“

 

“No,” Shiro said firmly, and pulled Keith up in his arms. Keith seemed so small in that moment. Too light. “Let’s find some cover.”

 

They took refuge in a broken down little shed of sorts. It at least gave them cover. He placed Keith sitting up against the wall. “Hello, this is Shiro,” Shiro said, knowing he’d need backup. “I need assistance. There were galra sentries on this planet, stronger sentries than we have faced before. Keith has been injured.”

 

“What?” Panicked voiced filled his ears. “We’ll come right away,” Lance said. “Just hang tight.”

 

“Keith,” Shiro said, feeling the worry bite at him. “I need to see the wound. Please.”

 

Keith looked at him, his eyes scared. He moved his shaking hands away, revealing the wound on his abdomen. Blood was leaking out, the wound resembling something like road rash. Keith grabbed on to Shiro’s arm, squeezing it.

 

“How bad is it?” Allura asked in Shiro’s ear.

 

“Just…just get here as quickly as possible,” Shiro replied, and that was enough of an answer. Keith’s forehead was covered in sweat. Shiro felt helpless; he had no supplies with him to do anything to help.

 

“Help is coming,” he told Keith, taking his hand. “Just hang in there, Keith.”

 

“Shiro,” Keith gasped. Tears sprung in Keith’s eyes, and it felt likea knife in Shiro’s heart.

 

“Don’t talk,” Shiro told him sternly. “Just breathe. Deep breaths. You’re going to be okay.”

 

“Sh-Shiro,” Keithsaid through his breathing. “Th-this is my fault. I wasn’t paying close enough attention. I wasn’t fast enough.”

 

“Shhh,” Shiro said, pulling Keith into his arms, holding him close. “Don’t say that. You…you shielded me from their attack. You saved me. You always…you always save me.”

 

“As many times as it takes,” Keith whispered, and Shiro felt his throat tighten.

 

“You’re going to be okay,” Shiro told him, and more so told himself. “We’re gonna get you back to the Garrison and they’ll fix you right up.”

 

Keith’s body shook with harsh coughs, and Shiro was panicked to see blood dribble down the side of Keith’s mouth. “Paladins, whats your ETA?” he cried, and realized he had tears on his face.

 

“We’re coming as fast as we can!” Pidge answered. “We’ll be there in a few minutes!”

 

“Dammit!” Shiro yelled.

 

“We have a medical unit with us,” Hunk said, sounding scared. “Just hang in there Keith!”

 

Shiro heard movement outside. More sentries were coming. Keith’s breathing was still harsh. He cradled Keith’s head to his chest, hoping the sentries didn’t hear Keith’s breathing and come to investigate.

 

“Sh-Shiro,” Keith gasped, his eyelids fluttering. “Thank you. For everything.”

 

“No,” Shiro whispered, his tears falling freely. “Listen to me, Keith. You need to fight. I need you to fight. I can’t lose you, too. I’ve lost too much already.”

 

“I-I’m-“ Keith coughed again. “I’m tired,” he told Shiro.

 

“I know,” Shiro said, holding him close. “I know. You’ve been fighting for so long.”

 

Perhaps that made Shiro selfish. But he needed Keith to fight just a bit longer. He couldn’t lose him, not here, not like this. Not after everything they both had been through.

 

“Shiro we’re here!” Pidge yelled, and sure enough, Shiro could hear the firing of weapons above him as the Lions destroyed the sentries that had been lurking in the area. Shiro pulled Keith up in arms, Keith’s head resting on Shiro’s chest.

 

_How safe he felt in Shiro’s arms._

 

Shiro emerged from their hiding spot as the Lions settled around them, as well as a small medic ship. Shiro was running now, running towards the medic as fast as he could. He heard the paladins calling to him, but he needed to get Keith to safety. The Medic allowed him on the ship, and they helped him get Keith into a bed. Keith’s breathing was barely there now, and Shiro realized that he was no longer awake. The medic placed an oxygen mask over Keith’s face. “Shiro,” the medic told him firmly. “We need to you to move. We need to tryi and help him until we can get him back.”

 

“But-“

 

“Shiro!” It was Allura, tears in her eyes as she took his arm and pulled him away. “Let them do their job. We need you to fly the Black Lion home.”

 

“But-he-he’s-“ Shiro slumped in defeat as the medics tended to Keith.

 

“I know,” Allura said, pulling Shiro into her arms. “I know. Keith is a fighter, Shiro. We have to believe in him now.”

 

Shiro just nodded, and let Allura lead him out of the ship.

 

* * *

 

The pain was unbearable.

 

Keith had felt pain before. He’d been injured before. But this was something more than he’d ever felt.

 

He realized, he must be dying.

 

It was hard to breathe, and his body felt weak. He couldn’t hear Shiro anymore. He felt alone. Shiro was always leaving him. Everyone was always leaving him. He had been stuck in a cycle of pain and loss since he was a child. It had caused him to become distant and cold with most people. But sometimes, it felt easier to have no friends than to lose friends.

 

Ever since their last fight, Keith had been tired. He was tired of fighting. He was tired of losing people. Even in their victories, the losses hung heavy. It made all the fighting seem so pointless at times. And he’d been afraid of losing his friends. His friends had quickly become like a family to him; a family, something he hadn’t had in a long time. Shiro had been the only one he had for so long. And opening up his heart so much had been terrifying. He couldn’t bear to face the pain of losing any of them.

 

Especially not Shiro. He meant what he said when he told Shiro he’d save him as many times as it took. He’d go to hell and back if it meant saving Shiro.

 

Shiro had saved him, after all.

 

Keith wanted to let go. Maybe it would be easier. He wouldn’t have to hurt any more.

 

But he thought of Shiro, holding him, begging him to hold on.

 

And so, Keith held on. He held on as hard as he could.

 

* * *

 

Shiro listened to the beating of the monitors in Keith’s hospital room. Keith hadn’t woken up yet, but he was finally stable and breathing on his own again, though they still had oxygen going through tubes in his nose. They’d had to take Keith into surgery when they arrived back at the Garrison. They’d told Shiro it was a miracle that Keith even survived. Keith’s stomach was wrapped in bandages, and he’d probably have scarring. They had him on antibiotics to fight any infection, as well as heavy doses of pain medication. He’d be in pain for some time, and he wouldn’t be able to fight or work with team Voltron until he was healed.

 

The other Paladins had been in and out to visit, but Shiro stayed by Keith’s side. It wasn’t until a full day after they arrived back that Keith finally woke up.

 

Shiro had nearly been dozing off himself when he heard Keith groan. The noise alerted him instantly, and he leaned forward, taking Keith’s hand.

 

“Keith?” he whispered. “Can you hear me?”

 

Keith groaned again, and opened his eyes. He blinked several times, looking confused, and then alarmed. He tried to sit up, and then gasped in the pain in his stomach.

 

“Hey, hey-“ Shiro put a hand on his shoulder, making him lean back into his pillows. “Take it easy. You’re safe here. We’re back at the Garrison.”

 

Keith’s eyes were shut tight as he tried to control his breathing. Shiro wondered if he should call for someone to get him more pain meds, when Keith opened his eyes again and looked at him.

 

“The sentries,” he said. “I got hit.”

 

“Yeah,” Shiro said. “The other Paladins showed up and we were able to get you out of there. You were hurt pretty badly, Keith, so I need you to try and relax. You’re going to be okay, but you need to rest and let your body heal.”

 

Keith closed his eyes again, and his breathing calmed. Shiro was sure he had fallen asleep, when Keith spoke again.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“For what?” Shiro replied, frowning.

 

Keith took a few more deep breaths before responding. “For giving me a reason to keep living. To fight.”

 

The words tugged at Shiro’s heart. “Thank you for not leaving me.”

 

Keith opened his eyes and managed a smile.

 

“Keith!” Lance yelled.

 

Both Keith and Shiro jumped, as the rest of the paladins filed into the room, overjoyed to see Keith awake. They surrounded his bed, Hunk ruffling his hair, Allura kissing him on the cheek. Pidge sat on the end of the bed, and Lance offered a fist bump, which Keith returned.

 

“How are you feeling?” Allura asked.

 

“You gave us a scare,” Pidge added.

 

“Gave _them_ a scare,” Lance corrected.

 

“We were all pulling for you,” Hunk said, glaring at Lance.

 

Keith couldn’t help but smile, and Shiro smiled as well.

 

“I wish I could do more for you,” Allura said sadly. “If only we still had the castle.”

 

“It’s okay,” Keith said, feeling tired by all the commotion but liking it at the same time. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be back fighting with you guys in no time.”

 

As if to discredit him, he was hit with a coughing fit, causing the pain in his stomach to flare. He squeezed Shiro’s hand, trying his best not to cry out.“I’ll go get someone,” he heard Hunk say, and someone grabbed his other hand, squeezing it.

 

“Just breathe for me,” Shiro told him, close by. “Hunk went to get the doctor, and he’ll give you some more medication.”

 

Sure enough, a second later, another voice joined them, though Keith was too tired to remember who it was. “Deep breaths, Keith,” the voice said. “I’m giving you some pain medication now, and it works pretty quickly, but it will make your tired.”

 

“Maybe we should go,” Pidge said uncertainly from the end of the bed, her hand on his foot.

 

“N-no,” Keith replied, opening his eyes. He saw Shiro first, his eyebrows knitted in concern, and them Allura next to him, looking like she might cry. Pidge at the foot of his bed, looking worried. Hunk looked more nervous than all of them, and Lance, who Keith was surprised to see was the other person holding his hand. “Stay with me.” His eyes found Shiro again, though the fatigue was already hitting him.

 

“Just rest,” Shiro told him. “We’ll be right here with you.”

 

The family Keith had always wanted. He fell asleep, feeling comfort in their presence.


End file.
